


Painting the Roses Blue (wonderland au)

by urasni



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: 2doc - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Eventual Smut, Gay, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Protective Murdoc Niccals, Slow Burn, Sorry guys, Wonderland, im dumb, like fuck, mad hatter exists, modern slang, paula is a bitch sorry, studoc - Freeform, the march hare is sexy, they have indoor plumbing cause im a baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-05-18 17:21:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19339072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urasni/pseuds/urasni
Summary: Stuart Pot, blue bunny used by the White Queen as a singer. He wanted to leave, and one day finally does. He runs right into the hands of the Red King, Murdoc Niccals. Chaos and drama ensuethis my first time posting on here soooo hope u don't hate my writing <3





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter mainly introduces murdoc and russel, with a glimpse of 2d at the end

CHOP!

The sound of a sword slicing through the thin neck of a criminal echoed throughout the courtyard. The citizens, few there were, cheered upon seeing the dismembered head fall into the basket. The recently executed man had no family, no family that would support him after his crimes. Multiple charges of murder and rape were hanging over this unnamed man’s head, far more than what is needed for execution. In this kingdom, even the slightest mention of a revolution could remove one’s head- those executions had far fewer people than this one’s. Today’s turnout was tens of the townsfolk, all gathered to watch the death of said lawbreaker. His death was truly a work of art, especially so to the families of all those he hurt.

The beloved King of Hearts, cruel as ever, reached into the basket, lifting the head with a gloved hand to present to his crowd. His long tongue hung out of his wide grin, moving the head all directions to show the innards of the neck, contents all spilling out onto his shoes. It disgusted some of the citizens, but the majority were used to the sadistic nature of their king, and welcomed his sadism with open arms. While he was cruel, he wanted the best for his kingdom, he wanted to make sure his kingdom was the best in all of Wonderland. Better than that blasted White Queen, that bitch. She always tried to one-up him, and the King’s competitive nature often got the best of him. It wasn’t like he had any advisors to disagree with him, as the slightest possibility of a mutiny sent anyone’s head flying. His only possible voice of reason was the head of his army, Russel, the man he considered to be his best friend, despite how rude the King was as a person. 

His majesty was known as Murdoc Niccals to only his closest- if he had any closest to call his own. He loved to drink and live the royal life, having tens of servants at his beck and call. Any of those to disobey or argue were immediately sent to the executioner, anyone except Russel. Initially, Russel was set to be executed for speaking back to Murdoc, but after a brief lapse in judgement- not relating to the impact of any alcoholic beverage- he had decided to allow Russel to be his voice of reason. 

Russel was the closest thing the King had to a friend, and even then they didn’t hang out as friends. They only did hang out late at night, behind closed palace doors, when no one else was around and Murdoc could finally let his guard down. He didn’t need to be cruel and sadistic to the one man who held his trust and respect. Only then, in the securest of locations, he divulged to his friend things he wouldn’t say to anyone else- but even then he didn’t show Russel his true feelings. He insisted on covering them up any chance he got, especially vulnerable emotions like sadness or remorse. Despite the King trying to cover up his true feelings, Russel could see right through him. He knew the King felt more than just pride and anger, he didn’t want to press the issue and accidentally get his head chopped off. 

Due to his friendship and trust with Murdoc, he was one of the only people allowed unaccompanied off the grounds of the kingdom and to near the forests. He often frequented a specific nearby forest, leaving at least twice a week to take care of a little child he found wandering aimlessly. She called herself Noodle, roughly nine years of age, and he had emotionally adopted her since their meeting. He hadn’t yet introduced her to the hustle and bustle of the red kingdom, fearing that it would be way too overwhelming for the little girl. Russel had instead decided to slowly start to introduce a few people at a time to the little girl, yet he hadn’t found anyone suitable yet to meet his adoptive daughter. 

Somewhere else

Fluffy blue ears perked up as the loud sound of footsteps slowly approached closer and closer, the owner of the ears opening his eyes as soon as the sound became close enough to become potentially dangerous. His big black eyes scanned the area quickly before landing on the figure in front of him. The blue bunny, known to many as Stuart, sat up quickly in his makeshift-flower bed and stared up at the queen. The White Queen, loved by many in her kingdom, narrowed her eyes and stared down the rabbit. 

“Any good explanation to why you’re killing my perfect flowers?” Her voice was sweet, but laced with a dark venom that could pierce his skin and kill him provided he said the wrong thing. He wasn’t the brightest rabbit, but knew when to shut his mouth in her presence, quickly nodding his head. 

“Well- Well if- if you could see- I- uh, well, I was- I was sleeping, in these flowers. They- They’re very soft, my Queen!” He tried to smile up at her, a gap where a tooth was, signifying his true clumsiness. He lost his tooth while knocking his face into a brick wall while running from some guards he managed to piss off. Here in the White Kingdom, he managed to piss everyone off. 

The Queen grunted in response, knocking him back onto the flowerbed with her staff. Her brown eyes narrowed. “If you think I’ll let you off the hook for that then you have another thing coming, rodent!” 

Her name was Paula, and she was beloved by all the citizens of her kingdom, but within the castle walls was another story. She appeared as fair and caring to all of the townspeople, but to her staff she was nothing more than a whiny toddler with the power to murder every single one of them. It was hard serving under her, but not many of the servants could afford to leave. Stuart was one of them. He worked under her as a personal singer, coming out only during parties among nobles to be shown off to neighboring kingdoms- except, of course, the Red Kingdom. The White Queen and Red King had been disagreeing for decades, a feud initiated generations ago, however the mannerisms of the rulers only fueled the fire to the neighboring conflict.

If Stuart could leave, he would. He was scared to venture further outside of the castle itself, due to how he could easily get lost and not found. Despite being a rabbit, he strongly doubted he would be able to survive more than twenty hours all by himself in the forest, and he didn’t know what would happen if he were to run into someone from the Red Kingdom. He watched the Queen storm off, sighing and curling in on himself to fall back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp there it is


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stu is faced with a potentially dangerous situation and peaces tf out

Stuart woke once more in his little flowerbed. It seemed that all the staff had completely ignored his presence, he wasn’t even called in for dinner. The sun was far gone, the moon having replaced its light. The moon illuminated the garden beautifully, but the newfound aesthetic of the garden wasn’t sufficient enough to let the rabbit see nearly five feet ahead of him. The night brought cold weather, and soon the man was shivering, wrapping his lanky arms around himself to try and create some friction. 

His black eyes widened to try and make sense of the black world he was now engulfed in. He couldn’t see anything, much less a dark castle. It was apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to find his way back home, although he didn’t entirely mind the idea of a new life. Life in the White Kingdom was alright enough, but he couldn’t fit in even if he wanted to. He was tall and skinny, with bright blue hairs and ears. To finish it off, his teeth were busted and eyes were black as the night sky itself. The White Kingdom was bright white, white as the snow that blanketed the ground during the cold months. The Queen would explode in a rage of fury at the sight of the slightest stain on her precious white kingdom. Stuart was a big blue stain in her kingdom. The only reason he was ever kept around was his angelic voice. His voice, while singing, could easily be mistaken for a siren calling in those within earshot to their doom, except he wouldn’t want to kill anyone, especially with his voice. 

Stuart’s ears perked up involuntarily, immediately bringing him out of his train of thought. His ears focused in on the sound he heard, a rustling, coming from the nearby shrubs. His heart started racing. Oh god, oh fuck, oh god, this was it. He was going to die. No doubt about it. He was literal prey, he couldn’t defend himself. Maybe he could run, that was it, he was going to run. Run far far away from any possible danger. 

The noise grew louder and he immediately spun on his feet, sprinting in the opposite direction of the noise. He navigated the garden quite easily, having ran through this garden thousands of times. The trouble really began when he left the perimeter of the garden, venturing into the unexplored forest. The darkness consumed him and his surroundings. Stuart yelped as he brushed past a branch that hit his arm, the temporary distraction causing his balance to falter, stumbling and falling flat on his face. He heard more rustling, and he scrambled to his feet, resuming his running away. 

“Fuck fuck fuck!” He screamed, branches hitting his face at a constant rate. He knew that if the White Queen saw him all dirtied up he would be dead, but he also knew that if he were anywhere else that he would also die. He figured he was dead either way, but instead of accepting it, he just kept running and running. He ran as fast as he could, feet flying out from under him as he came to a sudden and unexpected halt. He ran into a solid red brick wall, screaming from initial shock and pain. 

He stood straight up and looked around his surroundings. A tall, taller than the White Kingdom’s, wall stood ahead of him, dark red covering every inch of the wall. His ears perked up again and he frantically stretched his arms out, feeling the wall for any possible way of entry, trying as hard as he could to delay his inevitable demise. He turned a corner and finally found an entry gate- locked. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?! Fucking locked? I’m about to die, bitch!” A string of curses slipped out of the rabbit’s mouth, reaching up to determine how high the gate was. He paused, taking a deep breath before jumping as high as he could to try and reach the inside of the wall, despite not knowing what could be lurking behind the wall. No matter what it was, he wanted to escape the suspicious noise. His height allowed him to jump fairly high, high enough to easily see over the wall. However, his jump wasn’t high enough to safely propel him to the other side, instead his chest hit the flat top of the wall, flopping onto the other side of the wall successfully. 

He landed in a bed of flowers once more, this time some soft red geraniums. He was focused on trying to regain the breath that was knocked out of him due to the impact. He was so focused that he didn’t notice the large guard at the gate staring at him like he just fell from the sky, though it could be debated that he actually did fall from the sky. Stuart only took note of the man as his eyes were slowly closing to capture him in a deep sleep once more.

Russel’s eyes were wide as he watched the scene in front of him. A skinny blue bunny just hopped over the fence and fell asleep in the flowers. He looked to have just been in a fight, face bloodied and bruised from the impact of his many falls. He couldn’t just leave the man to be found by someone else, so he picked up Stuart as carefully as possible, quickly running to find Murdoc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stuart the blue coward


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> murdoc first interacts w an unconscious stu

King of Hearts Murdoc Niccals lived a life of leisure. He had no anxieties pertaining to how he ran his kingdom or would continue to run his kingdom in the following decades. He was a good and strong leader, but citizens often argued that the kingdom would run better with a queen at his side. Jokes on them, not only did Murdoc not particularly enjoy women, any past relationship he had with women all ended in beheadings. It wasn’t his fault that they were stuck up bitches and he didn’t want to deal with their bullshit. He didn’t even care, it wasn’t like he was lonely. He didn’t need those whores. They couldn’t handle him. 

Murdoc was currently resting in his king sized bed, in his king sized room. The room was grand, beautiful gold and red plating throughout all the furniture in the room. The walls were a golden brown with pure gold accents, and the furniture was a soft yet dark red velvet. He was nested within a large pile of blankets and pillows, wearing some dark red silk pajamas. He hadn’t yet fallen asleep, but was nearly on the brink of unconsciousness when Russel immediately barged into his room. His mismatched eyes shot wide open, sitting up to push some of the pillows off the bed. He wasn’t so desperate for human contact that he would have ten pillows in his bed. He was definitely not. 

“Russel! What the everloving fuck is your reasoning for interuppting me in the middle of my beauty rest?!” He narrowed his eyes, trying to seem intimidating despite both him and Russel knowing that he wouldn’t harm his friend. He briefly scanned over Russel’s person, finally landing on the blue and red mess that sat in his arms. He strained his eyes to look at the unconscious man. Murdoc quickly reached over to his nightstand to light one of the many candles that resided on the table. 

Stuart was in a deep state of sleep, so deep that he could easily sleep through a natural disaster. His arms were wrapped tightly around his torso, and if he was not currently held up by Russ, he would be in a tight fetal position. His face was bruised and bloodied, a cut at the top of his lip finally starting to scab over, however blood still leaked from the open wound. His body was covered with his own shirt and pants, but the shirt was ripped and stained deep red.

Murdoc smirked, holding his hand up to stop Russel from responding to the original question. “Who’s this lovely little thing you have right here? I’ve never seen a bunny like this before,” He trailed off as he got out of bed and made his way to Stuart, slowly lifting up one of Stuart’s ears, feeling the fur between his fingers. It was soft, so soft that it was difficult to believe that he was just recently found outside. He let a gentle smile slip through before clearing his throat and standing tall. He didn’t want Russel to see him vulnerable. 

“He crashed over our wall and passed out in some geraniums, your majesty. He was in clear pain, so I took him in. I wanted to consult you before any further actions, I’m sorry for waking you up, sir,” Russel quickly explained, setting him gently on the bed after getting permission from the king. Murdoc sat beside Stuart, poking and prodding at the younger man, playing with his hair. 

“Any indications as to who he is or where he’s from?” Murdoc quietly asked, barely audible to even Russel, who wasn’t even a foot away from the pair. Russel only shook his head in response, continuing to stare at the bunny. 

“It would appear that he is from the White Kingdom, due to his white collared shirt and gloves. Should I alert a messenger to prepare to journey to the White Kingdom to tell th-”

“No.” Murdoc interrupted immediately, his tone darkening. “He is not going back to that whore’s castle. He’s lucky he broke away.” He continued to play with Stuart’s hair subconsciously, stiffening when he realized his actions. The hand that once held the blue hair was immediately removed and set back on his lap, staring up at Russel. Russel only stared back down at the king, raising a brow. His stoic demeanor dissipated slightly, knowing he could be comfortable around the king.

“I believe it is safe to assume that your majesty has taken a liking?” He grinned slightly. Murdoc chuckled a bit before clearing his throat, trying to be serious once more. 

“Well, he doesn’t seem completely worthless. Tell my personal nurse to clean him up and have him resting in the guest room. The nice one, across the hall. When he wakes, we’ll speak to him about his new life here. He’s going to stay with us for now.” Murdoc ran a quick hand through his hair. “And- tell my nurse to send me in once he’s clean and in some proper, red pajamas. I think red would look very nice on him.” 

Russel nodded in acknowledgement. “Of course.” He gently picked the poor bunny up once more. While beginning to carry him out of the bedroom, he paused, turning to look back at Murdoc. He smiled. “He seems like a nice addition to the castle. Perhaps a permanent addition, if I may be so bold.”

Murdoc grunted, trying to contain a smile of his own as he crawled back into his empty bed. “You may not be so bold. You act as if we’re friends.”

“I have some good evidence to exhibit that we are.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever, just clean the kid up, yeah? He’s going to get an infection if he stays in this state. Not like I care.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like murdoc is a bit ooc but this is my first time writing him & i have plans in later chapters


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stuart is a dumb hopeless romantic

Stuart’s abysmal black voids of eyes slowly opened. Sun was pouring into the room from an uncovered window- a window? He wasn’t in a room before, was he? Stuart squinted as the room slowly started to clear, he tried to remember what happened. Last he could recall, he was running from some horrifying noise. He hit his head and then everything went black. Stuart shut his eyes and quickly sit up, suddenly starting to worry. This was not his room in the White Castle. The room was all red, pink, and gray- the White Queen would rather vomit than enter into this room. As he sat up, a sharp pain rang throughout his head. 

“Don’t sit up like that. You’ll hurt yourself even more, dullard.” A new, foreign voice rang throughout his ears. Rather than question everything going on in his current situation, he simply whined. The voice split his head in half, making him feel a new type of pain he hadn’t yet experienced. 

A hand was felt pushing him back down onto the bed, setting his head gently on the pillow. “Did ya hear me? I doubt you’re deaf, I’ve seen those pretty ears of yours before.” A blush slowly spread across Stuart, the apples of his cheeks turning as rose as the flowers in the garden outside. A dark chuckle echoed to his left, the man was now sitting at Stuart’s side. “Oh, I know you heard that.” He moved closer, gently pushing some of Stuart’s hair away from his eyes. 

Murdoc stared down at the blue rabbit lying in his guest bed, sighing. He couldn’t treat this bunny as well as he had been. That could get out, his reputation throughout the kingdom would be ruined. He sighed, maybe one day he could trust Stuart enough to be gentle. Despite how his decision to change his demeanor seemed, he wanted to help the bunny so he wouldn’t be so scared. “My name is Murdoc Niccals, King of Hearts of the Red Kingdom, and you shall address me as such. My head soldier found you ruining my beautiful garden and brought you in. You seemed like you were in a fight, and from the White Kingdom. Makes sense that that bitch queen would drive you away.” He paused to look away, stiffening and standing straight up. “You are going to work under me, this can be your room. You don’t have a choice, unless you want to get beheaded. I had some servants change you into good red clothing. I find that it compliments your hair.” He gestured to a bell. “This bell goes to my maid. You have access to her for a week until we find you a job in the kingdom. Any questions?”

Stuart opened his eyes fully, staring up at Murdoc. He bit his bottom lip, chewing on it until Murdoc told him to stop. He said it was a bad habit. Stu curled up. “I- I can- I can sing, your majesty,” He mumbled, barely audible under his mountain of blankets and pillows. 

Murdoc grinned slightly, his teeth crooked and chipped. “You’ll have to prove that for yourself, bluebird. When you can walk again. You can’t right now, so shut the fuck up and recover, got it?” His voice was stern and commanding, and while Stuart was nervous, he felt different than with Paula. Murdoc could hurt him, definitely, and probably behead him, but he decided right there not to care. The rabbit could only nod in response, burying himself back in the pillows. It was soft and it cancelled out a lot of noise. The king took the nod as an acceptable response, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

 

Four days had passed since Murdoc last spoke to Stuart, when the bunny first woke up. Any other interactions had been with the same two workers, Murdoc’s personal maid, and a soldier named Russel, who claimed to have found him. The two quickly learned of Stuart’s personal information and backstory, and he was sure that they relayed the information right back to Murdoc. They were both very nice, but they warned Stuart of the things that Murdoc was capable of, and not to become too trusting too quickly. Luckily, or unluckily, Stuart was the most trusting creature in the world. During the time that had passed, he had started walking on his own again. Only a few steps at a time, then Russel or the maid would force him to lay back down. He, however, felt perfectly fine after taking the few steps that he could. Today, he was going to walk out of the room and on his own. He was going to show Murdoc that he could be useful in his kingdom. He wanted to please the king, as it seemed like a good alternative to a beheading. Well, that and he generally wanted to make Murdoc like him. Stuart sat up that morning, grinning. He was going to do this.

The first thing he would have to accomplish was changing into day clothes, provided to him by Murdoc. Russel said that the king picked the clothes out himself, which made Stuart feel special, even though he knew he should know better. He kicked the sheets off his lean frame, swinging his long legs over the side. He slowly put pressure on his feet and stood, his joints popping loudly as he worked his body more. Stuart stood fully up, stretching up to remove his shirt and replace it with a deep rose button up. He was given burgundy pants and shoes. The change of clothes took quite a while, but eventually he got it. He wobbled to the door, stabilizing himself with the door handle for a second. He took a deep breath and opened the door, walking into the hall and standing. The bunny grinned, panting a bit from the adrenaline. He was actually doing this! If only Murdoc could see him now, he would be proud. 

Stuart leaned on the wall for support, limping a bit down the corridor, before reaching the top of the stairs. He chewed the bottom of his lip for a second before reminding himself of what Murdoc said. It was bad for his lips, they would get all dry and chapped. He didn’t want that. 

The stairs seemed tall, taller than any other stairs that were at the White Kingdom. Stuart shook his head quickly. “I can do this.. I can do this.”

As it turned out, he couldn’t do it. He toppled down the stairs with the very first step, bumping and hitting every sharp corner possible. He hit his head once more, before finally laying on the bottom floor, vision slowly going black. The last thing he remembered before blacking out once more was a greenish man rushing towards him, negative energy flowing out of Murdoc and hitting Stuart at an alarming force. However, along with the negativity, Stuart could’ve sworn he felt some concern coming from the king, but he didn’t want to overanalyze anything more than he already had. As his eyes shut, he heard only a voice coming from Murdoc. 

“Oi, rabbit, what the fuck are you doing?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this bunny just passes out anywhere and everywhere


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ace is here! and he runs into som new friends

The morning in the kingdom was that of a peaceful one. The servants liked to wake up extra early and get their tasks out of the way so they had time for leisure before she woke up. Living there really wasn’t all that bad, everyone was kind towards each other behind her back. Of course, some servants still had their issues and disagreements were talked about in a civilized manner of speech. All before she woke up. 

When White Queen Paula finally woke up, the workers of the White Kingdom were essentially walking on eggshells. If a mistake was made, she would see to correct it in any way possible. Most of the times, any way possible meant executions, like King Murdoc. Unlike Murdoc, however, she indulged in the murder of those who really were innocent, rather than criminals who deserved their heads to be severed from their necks. She often killed innocent workers who simply made an error, not even a critical one. To the citizens of the kingdom, she portrayed the killed as horrible criminals, but those on the inside knew her to be the criminal instead. 

Paula never cared for mornings. In fact, she ordered executions mainly at the beginning of the day. Now, a normal person would simply yell or demand for more coffee, instead of ordering someone to their death. They all agreed to be on their best behavior every morning, so as to see the death toll be as little as possible for the week. Paula only found solace in having the blue rabbit sing to her every morning whenever she wanted. His voice was soft, even if he was a daft idiot who ruined her beautiful flowers she worked so hard for. Her gardeners actually did the work, but she took the credit for it. 

Ace Copular was the servant to witness her sheer anger when finding out her rodent had left overnight. He was terrified, one wrong move and his whole life would be over, just like that. He couldn’t do that. He was still young, he was about to find love- potentially- and he wouldn’t mind having a family. 

“He fucking what?!” She screamed at him, face going red despite the white makeup she caked on each and every day. 

“Your highness, he’s just gone! None of us can find him! We think he ran away, my Queen,” He muttered at the end, staring off. There was no use. Ace Copular was going to be beheaded for sure. 

Paula tilted her head, nose crinkling to indicate a thought process. He figured she was thinking of ways to kill him and parade his body around town. She would say that he was a rapist, that he tried touching her inappropriately while she slept in her silk linens. The accusations would be the farthest from the truth, of course. No one in the kingdom would touch her with a ten foot pole. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty, she was alright- Ace didn’t like the clean type- her personality was just so horrid that no man or woman could stand being near her. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a shrill command coming from his queen. 

“You! You are going to find that rodent and bring him back or it will be your head! Do you understand me?” He could only gulp and nod in response. “Good. You are leaving right now!” 

It was all a flash of people and a bag being thrown at him before he was tossed out into the woods. Ace quickly checked the bag he was given. Some clothes, no food, and a dull knife. So much for preparation. He sighed, turning to the castle. He didn’t plan on coming back anyway, he was gone. He didn’t give a shit about Stuart, he was probably off living a better life knowing that he was free of her royal clutches. 

Suddenly, he grinned, reaching his hands up to cup the sides of his mouth. “Ay! Bitch! I fucking hate you! I’d say suck my dick but not even I want that shit!” He turned back into the woods and ran, ran as fast as he could. It was daytime, and he could see well enough to not worry about anything, even behind his shades. He kept running and running, he was going to run until his feet gave out, and when his feet gave out, he would run again. He laughed maniacally as the castle got smaller and smaller, finally just a speck of white on the horizon. He kept his head turned to where the castle was, laughing until he ran into a table. Wait- a table? Why the fuck was there a table in the middle of the god damn forest? With tea on it? Where was he? He turned around, scanning the area. He saw no one until he heard a throat being cleared behind him. He froze and turned around, staring at two young girls. One was younger, about nine, staring up at him with wide eyes. The elder looked him up and down, staring him in the eyes and speaking with a grin on her face.

“What’s the matter, mister? You lost?”

 

Stuart awoke with a start, on an entirely new bed. It was softer, not that his previous bed wasn’t soft, but this one was so much softer. It was like sleeping on real Egyptian silk, not that he would have any idea what fake Egyptian silk to compare it with. His head hurt worse than the initial fall a few days ago. He tried moving but felt a bandage wrapped tightly around his torso, restricting his movement. 

“You really are dumb, aren’t you?” Mumbled a gruff voice from the corner. Stepping into the light was Murdoc, leaning down. “You could’ve killed yourself, stupid. Don’t do that again.” He glared down at the bunny, slowly pressing a hand on his head before leaving. Stuart watched him go with wide eyes, before smiling to himself and snuggling into the blankets. This was Murdoc’s bed, he figured. He must care, Stuart thought, despite all the alarms going off in his head that he didn’t. He ignored those alarms and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lov ace sm. he should be in all the things


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> russ n ace plus 2

Russel had already requested this night off. He requested every Friday night off, and his request was always approved. That was the best perk of being friends with Murdoc, he could just leave the kingdom on a whim, little to no questions asked. He was quite proud of the trust that they built, especially in such a short amount of time. A few months ago, Russel was horrified of Murdoc and the possibility of beheading. However, now, he couldn’t fear Murdoc if he tried. He saw right through the satanist. Murdoc put up a scary front, that was for sure, but he was lonely. He needed companionship more than anything, but before Russel, he pushed away everyone. Even with Russel’s friendship, he pushed away a bunch of other people, staff and citizens. Yet, over the past few days, when Stuart just showed up, the King’s demeanor had changed. It was somewhat refreshing, this change of pace. Murdoc was a harsh ruler, but he was fair, and all the staff in the kingdom respected him, even when he snapped at them. They weren’t scared of him as they were Paula. 

Over the past five days, Murdoc had been seen smiling three times, which is more than he had smiled in the past two weeks. All of these times had been viewed by Russel, while he assumed that Murdoc thought he was alone. Or, well, alone with Stuart. He had been beside Stuart as many times a day possible, when he took breaks from sitting in his throne room, listening to the pleas of the townspeople. Conveniently, Stuart had been asleep for all the times Murdoc watched him. Murdoc always made sure that Russel had checked in before to make sure the bunny was asleep. He still didn’t want to be too trusting to Stuart, he had only just met the kid, but he couldn’t help it. Stuart was cute, and his blue hair and ears, they complimented the red hues of his kingdom beautifully, he couldn’t ever believe that white bitch would try to keep this man all to herself. Paula was so selfish, Murdoc felt it right to disclose to everyone in his kingdom how truly awful she was. Most anyone living in the red kingdom would fight for the dethroning of Paula, however, it hadn’t yet come to a war. They hoped it won’t come to that. 

Murdoc was currently in his room, where Stuart was residing once more. The King had decided to stay in the guest room that Stuart had once slept in. He was completely fine with it, the sheets were slightly worse quality, but they smelled like butterscotch and flowers, which he figured was Stuart. He didn’t mind that combination, it was homey. 

Russel quickly poked his head into the room, knocking on the door three times. He made sure that no one else was in the room before speaking. “Hey Muds, I’m going out tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.” He already knew it was okay with Murdoc, but he liked telling him specifics. It comforted him, and he felt that it comforted Murdoc as well. 

Murdoc looked up at the soldier, nodding. “Alright.” He paused, glancing back down at Stuart before staring at Russel. “Where do you go every week?”

Russel bit his lip and sighed. He knew the question was coming eventually, but he didn’t yet formulate a response. It was a solid few minutes before he spoke once again. “I’ll tell you soon. I promise.”

The King frowned, looking for any hints of betrayal in his friend’s face. When he couldn’t find any signs of mutiny, he gritted his teeth. “Okay. You better tell me soon. And come back before this thing wakes up.” He smiled a little bit and went back to frowning, petting Stuart’s hair softly. Russel took that as a hint to leave, closing the door and quickly leaving the castle. He previously bribed the nightguard to let him leave through the garden, so he took his time, strolling through the garden before making it to the gate. He left the garden, trusting that the guard would lock the gate back up. After finally leaving the grounds of the Red Kingdom, Russel picked up his pace, taking the nonexistent path he had made in his mind to the place he knew of so well. 

 

Ace stared at the two girls. He was told that no one inhabited the forest except for woodland animals and a strange cat. It was fairly plausible that these two could just be wondering the forest in the middle of the day, but how did they drag a table and tea set out into the middle of the woods? Their clothing didn’t even match any of the surrounding kingdoms. The youngest girl was wearing some baggy pants and a long pink shirt. Her hair covered her eyes, but he could still make out two dark brown eyes on her face. The older was more presentable, holding a teacup. She was sipping from it, although he couldn’t tell what was in there, or how she got it. She wore a button up and skirt, while both girls didn’t have shoes. She stopped her sipping and set the cup down, glaring at the man. 

“Excuse me, I asked if you were lost?” She moved closer to the younger. 

Ace opened his mouth. “I- thought that no one lived here.” His usual energetic demeanor was replaced by confusion. The girls laughed and jumped off the table, walking around him. The eldest spoke once more.

“We live here! Or, I do. This little girl is moving soon, but I don’t blame her. We were trying to put together a tea party, but we haven’t quite yet found the right people.” She stuck her hand out for him to shake, before pulling her hand away. “You can call me March Hare, and this right here is Noodle!” She patted the girl’s head, stopping and sitting back on the table. “You look like you could use a fun time, yeah?”

The man coughed, staring at the woman. “Excuse me?” He blinked at her. “Miss March Hare, I don’t think-”

“Oh, you prude! I’m just kidding! I wanted to see your reaction! You’re fun to mess with. All those people from the White Kingdom are.” He raised his brows. “In fact, we messed with this little guy a few days ago. It was night, and he was freaking out. Now that I think about it, I feel kinda bad.” She pouted before shrugging. “Oh well! Hey, you wanna come to our tea party? We still need a host, I even have a hat!” March Hare reached under the table and pulled out a big top hat, showing it off. “What d’ya say, mister?”

He looked down at the hat. “Well, my name’s Ace an- wait- you saw Stuart?”

She tilted her head. “Well, he was blue and really nervous. We were just trying to ask him to join our party. He was screaming and running like we were gonna kill him!” She picked the cup back up. “Whatever. Anyways, Ace, would you like to join our tea party?”

Ace sighed. There was that one phrase. What was it? If you can’t beat them, join them? Fuck it, he figured, why should he have a stick up his ass? He was just freed from the White Kingdom, he should be living his life! So why the fuck not? Ace slowly grinned, taking the hat and putting it on. “Why not? I’m not going anywhere.” Noodle clapped quickly, sitting at the table. March Hare grabbed his arm, making him sit beside her. 

“You can call me March if you want. I know March Hare is a mouthful.” She smiled nicely at him, before pouring out a dark brown liquid from a pot into everyone’s cups, humming happily. She was so glad that Ace agreed to have a party with them, no one ever had done that. March looked at Ace, noticing him stare at his teacup. “Relax, it’s just some black tea.” He relaxed and quickly knocked back the tea, his body desperately needed rehydration from running so fast away from the kingdom. 

They all talked for hours, well, March Hare and Ace spoke, Noodle didn’t say anything. March explained that she only spoke with one man, but it was easy to understand what the girl meant to say without actually speaking. It wasn’t too hard, actually, she utilized body language the majority of the time, and when Ace didn’t know what she wanted, March Hare translated what she wanted. The day sped by as they all conversed, laughing and feeling merry as the sun went down. 

As the day turned to night, March Hare grabbed Ace by the arm and pulled him behind a tree. Before he had time to question exactly what was happening, she slapped a hand over his mouth. Whispering quickly, she explained. “Noodle’s father comes every week to be with her, he’s from the red kingdom. He’s going to take her there soon, permanently.” She put her hand down, holding the hat to Ace’s head. She didn’t want him to leave just yet. 

Russel walked down to the girl, having brought a bag full of food and clothes, and a toy for her. Noodle ran up to him, hugging Russel tightly. He grinned and hugged back tightly, setting the bag down on the table, as he began his night with his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ace wears the hat,, a hatter


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ace is fuckin,, crazy   
> stu and muds actually have a human conversation

The night went by as fast as it initially came, Russel telling the girl new stories from the week, nearly all of them involving the new member of the Red Kingdom, Stuart. She listened intently, nodding along quickly. She spoke only one or two times, her words broken and scratchy, from the lack of usage of her voice. The sentences she gave him were barely comprehensible as is, but Russel could understand her perfectly. The two shared a dinner of bread and fruits, with some cake that the man swiped from the kitchen. He typically tried to feed the girl only the healthiest of foods, and while he was gone he left her with good non-perishable food. 

When Russel dictated that it was well-past Noodle’s bedtime, he rolled out a bundle of blankets for them to sleep on. Before they fell asleep, he made sure that Noodle still had a safe spot to sleep for the nights he wasn’t there. He had set up a tent for her to sleep in every night, along with tons of blankets and pillows and plush toys that he brought from the castle. Every other day, he would quickly run down to the forest, confirming to himself that the tent and its contents were still intact. Any person who knew about Russel and Noodle, which for the time being no one, they could see the inseparable father-daughter bond the two naturally had with one another. It was adorable, in its own way, their broken family. The soldier wanted nothing more than to bring her back home to the Red Kingdom, giving her the life that she so rightfully deserves, a life of luxury and happiness. Under his care, he decided, she shouldn’t have to worry about anything in her young life. She didn’t deserve to struggle.

Throughout that night and well into the dawn, Russel and Noodle slept under the stars, together as if no force in the world could tear them apart, and in many ways, that was true. Ace watched them during the time they spent together, gathering information. He definitely didn’t give a shit that Russel was from the Red Kingdom, he was too distracted by the picture-perfect image of the two-person family. He had been alone since he was a child, his mother and father having apparently been lost, although he had a suspicion that Paula had a say in the whereabouts of his parents. It wasn’t like he cared, life was too short to mourn over people you barely remembered. The staff at the White Kingdom thought of him differently, his green skin and eccentric attitude already labeled him as crazy, but he had decided shortly before leaving that being crazy wasn’t all that bad of an idea. He didn’t want to be normal if being normal was acting like those boring shitheads back at the castle. Yet, staring at Russel and Noodle made him feel a bit bad, if he wasn’t so weird, maybe he could’ve had a family like that. 

March Hare, who had been watching for the same amount of time Ace had, quietly piped in. “You know, he wants to take her to the Kingdom. I can’t wait for her to actually sleep in a nice bed.” He cocked a brow at her. “I know what a bed is! I may look like a crackhead, and I may be a crackhead, but I’ve been around a lot. I couldn’t stand those people, though. All boring, the same, carbon copies of one another.” He nodded quickly along with her anecdote, a grin spreading across his face. 

“I feel the same way! Everyone is so boring, and they call me crazy for daring to be who I am! I mean, fuck, I guess I am crazy, right?” Ace replied ecstatically, grabbing onto her arm. March Hare smiled back, a wild look flashing in her eyes. 

“You! Stay with me! We’ll make our own kingdom, where anybody can be as crazy as they want!” Their voices were getting louder with each exchange, the excitement between the two radiating in waves throughout the forest. Ace instantly agreed, too blinded by enthusiasm to think rationally about the major life decisions he was making with someone he just met. The Hare paused and frowned, before staring him in the eyes. “If we’re gonna make a kingdom, you can’t be wearing those White Kingdom clothes! We need to get you some new clothes, and a new name! Ace is too recognizable. I like,” She thought for a moment. “I like Hatter. ‘Cause, I like hats, and you look good in hats!” 

Ace contemplated the new name, a mischievous grin spreading across his thin face. “The Mad Hatter.” She squealed in delight, yanking his shirt. 

“We are going to the Red Kingdom right now to get new clothes!”

The newly named man tilted his head. “Why the Red Kingdom?” 

March Hare only shrugged. “They have more shades than just red. The kingdom where you’re from just has white clothes. I hate it there, so we’re going to the other one. Plus, we can take the path that Russel took to get here, yeah?” When she saw him nod his head, she led him down the path and into the kingdom grounds quickly. 

 

The castle at night was Murdoc’s favorite time. He was plagued with the curse of insomnia, but realized that said curse was truly a blessing in disguise. He had the best times in the dead of night, sometimes surrounded with people laughing and drinking, sometimes completely alone with his own thoughts. The latter instance was nice, but amongst these times of silence, he tended to think a little too much about all his issues. His problems plagued his thoughts, his abusive relationship with his father, his unhealthy coping mechanisms, the overall feeling of complete dread and the knowledge that one night he was definitely going to die alone. That he knew for sure. He was an asshole, and he wasn’t planning on changing the nature of his actions any time soon. That itself made him almost completely undesirable, however, to make matters worse, he couldn’t handle a relationship with women. He tried, he really did, but the king simply could not stand women, especially the ones he had been with.

That night was filled with those thoughts, as he paced through the dimly lit corridor. Murdoc wasn’t going to sleep, he didn’t even bother trying. He didn’t even have his own bed to rest in. He paused his nighttime stroll, turning on his heel to face the door that he called his. Within that door was another person, one who was most likely dead asleep. Maybe he could just sit on the bed for a moment, or retrieve a spare blanket from his wardrobe. Nothing could beat those real Egyptian silk sheets. The King resumed his walking, this time with a real destination.

As he inched into the completely dark room and his eyes adjusted, he had to stop to confirm that the man in his bed was definitely asleep. He couldn’t see much, but Stuart was breathing at an even rate, suggesting a deep sleep. Murdoc allowed a sigh of relief to slip past his lips, quietly striding over to the bed and sitting down. He went as slow as possible to make the smallest of sounds, leaning down to look the bunny over. He could barely see his chest rising and falling, panning up his body to meet a pair of jet black eyes that were- staring right back at him?

Murdoc yelped, jumping up and grabbing the nearest object as a weapon. Unfortunately, the nearest object he could find was a pillow, which was quite possibly the worst weapon to use. Stuart also yelped, frightened by the King’s reaction. Was his appearance really that atrocious? They stared at one another, both trying to calm down the adrenaline from the possibility of a fight. 

Stuart was the first to speak. “Your Highness?” He wanted to make sure that it was Murdoc, that he really was there, and this wasn’t an insanely realistic dream. Murdoc only nodded, silent for a few minutes before replying. 

“Uh- yeah, that’s me. The King, your King. Your majesty.” He stood tall, trying to build confidence from nothing, despite being well into the night and in his dark red pajamas. 

The blue-haired man hummed, staring down at his legs before freezing. “I-I think- I think I’m in your bed..” Even in total darkness, Murdoc could feel the blush radiating off the younger. Stuart seemed very scared, he noted, so it would be best not to be too mean. 

“I ordered it. You took a bad fall, again, and the hospital beds are uncomfortable. Plus, your room’s bed isn’t nearly as nice as this one.”

“My room?”

“I said that, didn’t you hear me? You need to clean out those huge ears of yours.” Murdoc sat beside him once more, fixing the pillow he once held back into the sheets. Stuart was watching Murdoc as best he could, his ears quickly falling flat against his head. He looked down, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. Murdoc could barely make out his face but knew all the same what he was doing. “Stop that, that’s not good for your lips.” He tried to sound gruff but knew that it didn’t work out. 

“Sorry- it's a bad habit from when I lived at the Whit-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” He interrupted. “Paula doesn’t care what happens to her people, only herself.” 

Stuart nodded and stared at his lap, too afraid to confront the man ahead of him. He took a deep breath and looked up. “Why did you take me in?”

Murdoc inwardly groaned. He figured Stuart would ask this, but he had hoped it was with Russel or his maid. Anyone but himself. “Well, dullard-” The rabbit whined at the nickname. “Shut it. I’ll tell you, but you have to be quiet, and never say anything about this to anyone else, or it’ll be your head in a basket. Got it?” Stuart nodded. Murdoc smiled a bit, pleased at how intimidating he seemed to Stuart. There was no way he’d ever behead the man, he just wanted to make sure that no one would hear of this night. “Alright. Well, it starts a few years back…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and bam they love each other cool cool


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> murdoc and stu are cute  
> ace is probably insane  
> russel is a big dad

The king told Stuart everything that night. What started as a simple explanation to why he hated Paula quickly turned into an anecdote about his entire royal life, including his father, the former king. Murdoc didn’t know what compelled him to talk so much about his life, but stopped caring when Stuart started speaking as well. 

Stuart’s life was uneventful. He had two parents, both very loving people, but they went missing when he was around 12, old enough to work. He mentioned that a lot of the staff who have children go missing right when their child is old enough to work. Murdoc told him that Paula probably killed his parents, but instantly dismissed it as a crazy conspiracy when he saw the tears well up in the man’s eyes. He couldn’t have the rabbit cry. He would feel bad. 

The blue rabbit led a life of what he used to call luxury, although looking back, he now realized that Paula treated him like dirt. He had to be up at seven a.m. sharp, singing to Paula to wake her up. That was all he was good for. He wasn’t used for anything other than that, and when he wasn’t singing, he was treated was shit by both the queen and the rest of the staff. He wasn’t even sure why the staff didn’t like him, he hadn’t done anything to piss them off, or he thought he didn’t. As he told his story, Stuart understood how horrible his life was. He trailed off his tangent, staring at the window as the sky grew lighter.

“We’ve been talking a very long time,” Stuart mumbled, yawning a bit. Murdoc, finally beginning to make out the features on his face, stared at the other man. He took notes on the few freckles on his cheeks wide nose, his chapped lips- chapped from biting, no doubt- and his large eyes that held no color, yet at the same time reflected every bright light that he came in contact with. Murdoc hated that he made these notes in his head, hated that he immediately felt anger as he heard Stuart’s background. In comparison to his own, Stuart’s life was incredibly tame. He wasn’t beaten to a pulp, despite the pressure he had to endure while working under Paula. He wanted to kill the white bitch for even considering hurting him. What the fuck was Murdoc saying? Was Stuart talking again? He wasn’t listening, oh shit, he had to get it together. 

“Yeah.” Murdoc nodded. Stuart furrowed his brows, staring at the man. 

“I asked what time it was.” He let a dry laugh slip through, staring into the mismatched eyes of his new king. Murdoc’s face flushed a light pink, despite the green hue of his skin. 

The king broke away from his gaze as soon as possible, nodding. He forced back down the smile that was creeping up, staring down. Murdoc cleared his throat, once driven his smile away, looking back at the blue bunny. “I’m not sure of the time, but it’s going to be morning soon. You’ll probably be allowed to leave this room and walk around, with supervision of course. Although, you won’t be walking around if Russel knows you’ve been awake this long. Lay down.” He placed his hand on Stuart’s chest, the bandages now removed, and gently pushed the man down. 

Stuart flushed pink, grabbing Murdoc’s wrist. The action made the men freeze, both staring at each other. Stuart’s life flashed before his eyes, seeing Murdoc chop his head off in front of a large audience. Paula wouldn’t even care. Would Murdoc care? Probably not. Murdoc coughed. 

“What is it?”

Stuart sighed shakily and shut his eyes, anticipating a blow to the head for what he was about to say. 

“Can you- can you stay with me? You- you’re warm, and- and I’d appreciate it.” Stuart couldn’t have predicted what was to be said next, even if he was a psychic. 

“Alright.” Murdoc simply nodded, sliding into bed beside the man. “If you say a word about this night to anyone except Russel, I won’t hesitate to kill you and everyone you love.”

Resisting the urge to snuggle up to Murdoc, Stuart smiled, shutting his eyes and instantly falling asleep beside the man. Murdoc stared at the bunny, letting a small smile grace his face as he watched his chest rise and fall gently. As the king was laying his head to rest for the remainder of the night, he sighed, feeling a warmth spread across his chest as his eyes shut. 

 

“That color is atrocious on you, take it off!”

“Shush!” 

“I’m just trying to help!”

“Help me a little quieter, we’re going to get killed!”

“That’s part of the fun, Ace!” 

“I thought my name was Mad Hatter?”

“To everyone else. To me, you’re Ace, but everyone else is gonna know you as Mad Hatter.” 

“Why do you only get one name? Don’t you have another name?”

March Hare frowned at the tall man, shaking her head. “That doesn’t matter!” She tossed another jacket at him. “We don’t have to talk about names anymore, okay? Just try this one, I think it’s a winner.” She forced a small smile out, patting his upper arm. 

Ace looked at the jacket for a moment. He slipped it on, grinning a bit. “Is this good?” His partner in crime, literally, nodded quickly and grinned. 

“It’s perfect! Okay, good, so we have a few jackets and shirts for you-”

“Do you have a house?”

March Hare rolled her eyes. “It’s a cottage, pretty far and pretty small. You can have your own room, though, don’t worry.” She flashed a quick grin before picking up their new clothes. Ace nodded quickly and opened the door for the two of them. 

In front of the door stood Russel, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. “Excuse me, what the fuck is going on in here?” 

“Oh shit,” Ace froze, eyes looking around for a quick escape. March stood still in front of the men, staring up at Russel with widened eyes. 

Russel grabbed the two by their shoulders, leading them out of the closet and down the stairs. He examined their bodies, noting interesting details. The girl had small rabbit ears, not unlike the one up in Murdoc’s room, but had darker skin and light hair. The man, on the other hand, had green skin, lighter than Murdoc’s, and greasy black hair. He wore pointed shades that hid his eyes well and an obnoxiously oversized hat that held an Ace of Spades card within the ribbon. They looked insane, but he recognized them. He knew, by the man’s clothing, that he was from the White Kingdom. Russel had seen the girl run around the forest while he came to see Noodle. Noodle called her March, and said she was a friend, but despite the good word, he did not just trust her. 

Russel roughly set the pair down on a sofa in an empty room, shutting and locking the door. Sunlight from the daybreak lit up the room, the natural light reflecting off all the gold and silver. It hurt their eyes, but Russel was used to it. He took a seat in from a coffee table and set it in front of them, sitting in said chair, glaring at the two. 

“You have five minutes to tell me who you are, and why I shouldn’t report you to the King immediately.”

Ace and March looked at each other, panic spreading across their faces before Ace spoke up. “Okay! She’s March Hare, and I’m Ace- or, no, Mad Hatter. That’s my name, not Ace. We didn’t do nothing but just get new clothes for our new kingdom! You can be a part of it, if ya want, we don’t discriminate!” March Hare nodded quickly, the two grinning at the man. 

The soldier sighed, wiping his face with his hand. They were clearly insane, so he wasn’t too worried about them doing harm to anyone else. Slowly, he pointed a finger to the girl. “My daughter, Noodle, knows you. Why and how?” 

She sighed and sat up, adjusting her skirt. Her demeanor changed to serious, trying not to piss the large man off. “I live in the woods. She sometimes stays with me. She doesn’t talk to me, but I know that she really loves you. Sometimes we have tea parties, but it’s never fun with two people. Three, now that Hatter is here with me. Four, if you wanna join.” She grinned. “Our Kingdom is growing so fast!” Ace nodded rapidly in agreement, smiling widely.

Russel nodded, stark white eyes closing for a moment. He bobbed his head some more. “Okay. Okay. Noodle likes you,” He motioned to the girl, “and she likes you.” He motioned to Ace. “So, I’m going to let you two go on a warning. I will tell the King, but you two will be fine. So I’m going to leave this room, and you two can leave, and leave quickly.” He stood up, putting the chair back. Russel turned to face the two for the last time, raising his brows. “I’m bringing Noodle home next week, but I’ll see you guys around for tea.” He smiled slightly, unlocking the doors and leaving the room. 

Ace instantly stood, dragging March up. “Let’s go, let’s go, we gotta go!” They both laughed wildly as they ran through the castle, all the early-morning staff shooting confused glances at one another. They practically hopped over the garden fence and ran into the open forest, sneaking glances at one another as they maneuvered through the trees and tall grass until they entered a small cottage, miles away from the location of their earlier tea party. 

 

Russel knocked on the door to Stuart’s new room three times, waiting before knocking again. When nobody answered, he opened the door, surprised to find an empty bed. There wasn’t even the slightest sign of life inside the room. Perplexed, he walked over to Murdoc’s chambers and knocked three times. No one answered again, so he opened the door gently, making sure to make little noise. He poked his head in, gasping at the sight before him.

Stuart was curled in on his side, eyes shut, lips slightly parted. He was in a deep sleep, clearly, which would have been a normal sight, if it had not been for the being beside him. Murdoc was beside Stuart, an arm wrapped around the blue bunny protectively. He was also asleep, his incredibly broken nose causing him to snore rather loudly. Russel chuckled gently, staring at the sight. He wished he could have a painting of this image forever, especially if- or rather when- Murdoc would deny ever cuddling with his rabbit. It was adorable, in all honesty, the two looked so natural. Russel knew that if Murdoc woke and witnessed him watching this scene, he would gut Russel like a fish, so the man slowly closed the door. The news could wait a few more hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha they were caught


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stu is making murdoc feel things and hes okay with it and hes NOT okay with it

A small smile graced his lips staring up at the older man with complete and absolute love in his eyes. Those black eyes were half-lidded, and though no pupils or iris were visible, the emotions that filled them to the brim. The strong hands that cupped his hollowed cheeks squished gently as the man laughed, light and happy. His hair was matted and messed up, and his ears were pressed flat against his head, although he wasn’t feeling any fear or shame. A light pink had dusted his cheeks- well, really, every part of his face- the few freckles he did have darkened by the sudden blood rush. 

Murdoc grinned back to the man in his arms, biting his bottom lip to keep from saying things he would regret. He had already let this go on too far, he didn’t want to be driven deeper into the quicksand of the relationship that he built with his own two hands. His hands. Those hands that held the bunny gently, so close and yet, so far to those lips. He could feel their heads swimming, high from the dopamine being released from their brains. The King leaned in, slowly pressing his thin lips to the chapped ones of the bunny. As soon as they kissed, Murdoc automatically knew, this was the best high of his life. No matter the amount or quality of the drugs he consumed, nothing would ever compare to the feeling of Stuart moving against Murdoc. His head practically shook with the amount of happiness that rang in between his temples, especially so when Stuart’s hands started traveling up his chest, before turning back down to-

Murdoc sat up instantly, panting from the adrenaline let out due to his hyper realistic dream. He ran a clammy hand down the side of his face, inhaling and exhaling deeply for a few moments to slow his hear tback back to that of a normal one. His shirt was sticking to his torso, and his pajama bottoms were feeling a little too tight for his liking. He blinked the crust out of his eyes, staring down at the bed ahead of him. Where was he again? His bed, in his bedroom, in the castle, safe. Although, he wasn’t supposed to be asleep in here, he was staying in the guest room- or, rather, Stuart’s room.Oh fuck, Stuart! He instantly turned his head, his neck popping with such a swift movement, staring at the other lump in his bed.

Stuart was curled up under the Egpytian silk sheets, his thin chest heaving up and down in a steady rhythm. The little bunny’s face had a sleepy smile as he dreamt, probably of carrots and roses and shit, as Murdoc mused. A green-tinted hand pushed away the bangs on the unconscious ma, gently brushing the fingers through said blue hair. Murdoc, as much as he hated to admit it, could feel his blackened heart pounding to life after years of neglect. He sighed shakily, laying back next to Staurt. Stuart instantly wrapped his arms around Murdoc’s torso, as if he had been doing that every night for years. It was comforting, in a way, but the comfort brought another, definitely sadder, discomfort to the king. He didn’t want to go through this again. He had a specific cycle he figured out based solely off the three relationships he previously had- happiness, comfort, angst, and then a beheading. That was how they all ended up. 

“Murdoc..?” A small, sleepy voice snapped him out of his morbid thoughts, forcing the man to turn his head to the body wrapped around his torso. He held back from correcting Stuart on how to address him, it wasn’t all that important to mention right now. 

“Yes, Faceache?” The nickname would have stung significantly more if the bunny had not been three-quarters asleep, but in his half-conscious state, Stuart only partially opened his eyes and flashed Murdoc a tired smile. That smile made Murdoc feel an invisible tug at his heart, somehow cracking away at the charred exterior he once thought of as a real heart. 

“G’d mornin’,” The bunny fully grinned, the gaps in his teeth visible. His eyes closed once more as he cuddled closer into Murdoc’s chest. He was incredibly warm, like a space heater, and he wanted to take as much advantage of this tender moment as humanly possible. Murdoc’s stomach did flips.

“Morning.” Was the gruff reply that came from the king. He didn’t dare speak any more, as this whole ordeal terrified him. There were two ways to go about this early morning interaction. He could, on one hand, be an insensitive asshole and completely brush Stuart off like he was nothing. On the other hand, he could say fuck it and hug the bunny close to his chest, inhaling that sweet scent of butterscotch that wafted into his nose. He couldn’t choose the latter, no matter how much he wanted to, but he couldn’t just throw Stuart away. He was still recovering. 

“You’re so comfy,” Stuart mumbled, voice muffled by the silk on Murdoc’s sleepshirt. Murdoc couldn’t do this. He had to get out of this. 

He sat up, accidentally knocking Stuart back onto the sheets. The little yelp that the bunny gave at the sudden movement almost made Murdoc stop. Almost. He got out of the bed, glaring down at Stuart. “I am going. It’s already late in the morning, I have to sit on my throne. You have clothes in your own room, the one across the hall. Do not bug me. Breakfast will be brought to you. Can ya understand that, dullard?” The smaller gulped before quickly nodding, staring up at the other. “Good. Good day.” With that, Murdoc turned on his heel and left to the hall, finding a maid and ordering her to help dress him. It was lucky that he had a separate room for wardrobes and changing. 

Stuart flinched as the door slammed behind the other man. What did he do wrong? Was he just too annoying? That was probably it, Stuart was annoying, it made the most sense. No matter, the man decided, those few moments he spent with Murdoc were enough to last years to come, provided that he not ever see the other again. 

Murdoc, once dressed, sat angrily in his throne, gripping his staff in his left hand. His left leg was crossed over the right, he was glaring daggers into the two guards at the front of the hall. He wasn’t mad at the guards, no, he was mad at himself, he was simply taking it out on someone else. It was a bad habit, yes, but he felt it was better than bottling his negative emotions up. However, he didn’t mind bottling up the positive emotions. Those were easy to bottle up, especially since he didn’t have many positive emotions to begin with. His legs switched, and he leaned his cheek on his right hand. “You!” He pointed at the left guard with the end of his staff. “Find me Russel!” The guard quickly nodded, running off into the large hall to find his superior. 

As he was waiting for his friend, a member of the town entered through the double doors, staring up at his king. 

“You may address me,” Murdoc sat up, staring through the citizen. He waited for the man to speak, a small smile tugging at his face for the second time that day. Though, this time was not for a lovely man sleeping in his own bed, it was for the fear that was evident in the civilian’s stature. His legs were shaking, and he played with his hands, refusing to make direct eye contact at Murdoc. He felt like a true king. 

“Well- Well some of the townspeople- and- and I- we’ve been seeing some newcomers- and they aren’t doing any harm- but they- they’ve been acting a little weird. They also don’t live within kingdom grounds, and- and we’re worried they might be spies from the White Kingdom,” He stuttered out, wiping his sweaty hands off on his pants. Murdoc smirked, chuckling darkly. He leaned forward, studying the peasant under him.

“And what do you want me to do about it?”

The man’s face fell, and his hands came back up to entangle his fingers together, his nerves returning in full force. “Well, we were wondering if you- if you could investigate it. If- If not, that’s okay too! They’ve just been a little suspiscious, and we don’t know what to d-”

“Silence!” The King’s voice boomed through the empty hall, the townsperson instantly shutting his mouth. “I will look into the situation. Describe them, and then you shall leave.” 

“We- Well one was very tall, and his skin was green, like yours, your Highness, except more sickly. He had some darkened glasses and a hat. And the other, she was shorter. Brown skin, blonde hair, and- and some ears like a rabbit’s. She even had a tail too, just like a bunny.” Murdoc’s brows raised. Another bunny? His immediate thought was that Paula had sent one of Stuart’s kind to retrieve him. It was a shame, really, how confident she was that she was going to get him back. Murdoc would only return Stuart if he and all the people in the kingdom were dead. Stuart was his, he would always be his. 

“That’s enough. Leave.” The man nodded and bowed, before practically running out of the throne room. As he made his way through the doors, the man Murdoc had originally wanted walking back in as soon as the former left. 

Russel entered the throne room, his stark white eyes staring up at Murdoc. He was wearing simple clothes, having taken his uniform off hours ago. He crossed his arms and raised his brows up at the king. “Yeah?”

“We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes inconsistant updating lol


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> paula makes a plan, russ spills the beans, muds is #stressed, and stu is confident  
> a rollercoaster of emotions

“You fucking what?!” A shrill screech echoed through the empty castle, startling the already-startled staff. The informer of the news froze, staring at the owner of the voice. The Queen stomped her heeled foot, standing up. She banged her staff against the tiled floor. “That is not fair! You have to find him and kill him!” 

The man stuttered, shaking his head. “Well-Well our men have searched the perimeter around the kingdom, but we didn’t see any signs of Stuart or Ace.” 

Paula pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning loudly. After inhaling and exhaling, she glared down at the man. “Okay, you know what? You’re gone. Dead. If it’s so hard to find a fucking green man and a blue god damn bunny, you don’t even seem to want to live anymore!” She turned to the men to her right, quietly ordering them to execute the man in front of her. The man shook his head quickly, fear pooling in his eyes. 

“No, no, your Highness, no, please! We can find them, I promise! Just give me and my men a few more days, and they’ll be returned, you have my word!”

“Your word means nothing. You have two more days. If I do not have either Ace or Stuart in my possession by the end of those two days, your head has no choice but to be removed from your body. Understandable?” She stared him down, yet in a rare change of heart, she decided to let him try again. She didn’t even believe that he could find them, they were going to kill him anyways. Might as well delay it as much as possible. 

The man nodded quickly, turning and sprinting out the throne room as fast as possible. Paula only laughed, glancing at the guards to her right. She mumbled something about keeping watch on the man who left, making sure he was leaving kingdom grounds, and that he would return with one or both of her subjects. The guards saluted, exiting as soon as she dismissed them. 

 

Murdoc closed his throne room early, so early that only one complainer was seen. The word that spread around the town was that someone was to be executed and he was making plans, although that was far from true. 

He and his friend sat on the floor of the throne room, windows drawn to a close and doors locked, making the conversation inescapable. His hands were intertwined, his eyes concentrated on a few stray cracks in the brick. He didn’t know what to say to start the conversation, he had so many questions and demands from the soldier that he had overwhelmed himself. He took a deep breath, about to speak, when Russel decided to go first. 

“Is this going to be about where I go every Friday or is this going to be about the intruders?” He got straight to the point, staring Murdoc right in his eyes, even if Murdoc didn’t stare back. The king mumbled a bit, sighing before sitting straight up and looking through Russel. 

“Both. You’re going to tell me about both.” 

Russel simply nodded. “Okay, that’s fair. There’s a little girl in the forest named Noodle-”

“Noodle?”

“Yes, Noodle. She doesn’t have anything so I adopted her. I see her every Friday and I’m bringing her to the kingdom in a few days.” Murdoc nodded along before holding a hand up to pause Russel. He raised his brows.

“You adopted her but she doesn’t live with you? How do we know she’s not a spy from Paula, trying to appeal to you empathetic side?” He questioned, lowering his hand. “Can never be too careful.”

“Yeah, I know. But trust me, she’s around nine, she wouldn’t be a spy. Besides, she barely speaks. Can I continue?” Once Murdoc nodded, he resumed his speaking. “There are indeed intruders in the kingdom, they call themselves the Mad Hatter and March Hare, whatever that means. They’re harmless, too stupid to even hurt themselves. I was going to tell you earlier this morning, but you seemed a bit busy in your room, so I left it.” 

Murdoc’s face flushed, he tried playing it off as anger. “You entered my room without permission? That’s a crime punishable by death.” He stood up and Russel stood with him, hands raised to show innocence. 

“Yeah, whatever, I’m pretty sure snuggling with the King is punishable by death, too.” The ghost of a smirk crossed the soldier’s lips, flustering the king even more. He growled out of frustration, whether the frustration be from anger or embarrassment, he wasn’t sure. He picked up his staff, poking the other man in the side with it. 

“Get out of my throne room or I swear I will have you and all you care about beheaded!”

The threat meant nothing to Russel, but he still left. He assumed that Murdoc was having one of his episodes and would calm down by the end of the day, he just needed some space. Russel paused in the middle of the hall. Did he really need some space, or was Murdoc just not being comforted by the right people? His blank eyes slowly traveled to the staircase that led to the master and guest bedrooms. This time, he didn’t stop himself from grinning. 

The knocks on the wood echoed through Stuart’s empty head, causing a whine to sound from the back of his throat. It sounded pathetic, and it was, but it was involuntary, so he didn’t have a lot of room to complain. The knocking sounded again and he forced himself to sit up in the uncomfortably-comfortable bed. “Ye-ah?” His voice cracked halfway through the word and he cringed at himself. Way to act more childish. 

“It’s Russel, can I come in?” Stuart’s ears perked up. Russel? He liked Russel, Russel was always nice to him and didn’t make him feel weird things! The bunny sat up and nodded, although nobody could see him. 

“Yeah, come in!”

“Okay, you better be decent,” The soldier mumbled as he opened the door, looking at the man on the bed. “How’re you feeling?” Stuart grinned, his gappy teeth displayed perfectly. 

“A lot better, actually! I have a headache right now, but that’s kind of normal for me, but I had such a great night’s rest. I bet it was because of Murdoc sleeping with me! Well, not sleeping with me like sex, but just cuddling, although now that I think of it I wouldn’t mind having sex with Murdoc. He’s pretty strong and demanding, and he’s not too bad of a looker too! Of course, the green skin was initially unsettling, but most people could say that about my hair and ears, so I don’t think I have much room to talk, but,” He slowed down, ears flattening and face reddening as he realized what he just went on about. “But, I uh, guess you didn’t need to know that... Sorry.” He laughed nervously, staring down at his legs to avoid acknowledging the other man. Russel scratched the back of his neck for a moment before shrugging. 

“Nah, it’s okay, could’ve figured you have a thing for the guy. I don’t blame you, everyone’s got something. Glad to know you’re feeling better, though.” He coughed a bit. “Anyways, Murdoc is in the throne room, pretty stressed out, and I thought it would be a nice gesture if you went and sang to him.” Stuart gave him a look of confusion, forcing him to elaborate. “Well, you worked at the White Kingdom as a singer, right?” Stuart nodded. “Then go and sing for him. Something soothing, to ease his nerves.”

The bunny bit on his bottom lip, chewing for a second. “Do you think he’ll like it?” 

“Trust me, he’ll appreciate it very much.” 

Gaining a new sense of confidence, Stuart nodded, hopping out of bed and searching frantically for new clothes to wear. “Yeah! That’ll impress him, I’ll sing! Thank you, Russ! You’re such a good friend!” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it,” Russel awkwardly mumbled, smiling at the sight of the ecstatic man. “There are clothes for you in the nearby wardrobe. Just go to the throne room when you’re ready. You can do it.” He nodded goodbye and closed the door, leaving to actually do his kingdom work for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for slow-ass updates lol


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> murdocs family sux

The taps of his heeled boot echoed through the throne room, creating more noise than he had originally intended. His head pounded, filled to the brim with the day's complaints and the implications of them. He now, in the late afternoon, had to try and figure out solutions to every single one of them. Of course, most were fairly simple. A lot of the townspeople simply wanted Murdoc to send a staff member to complete a petty task, such as removing a wasp nest from a house, or rebuilding a broken fence. The hardest complaint to deal with had been the one about the newcomers, but Russel told him not to worry, he reminded himself, so he had been trying to focus on other things. However, it’s pretty difficult to focus on other things when there isn’t anything else to think about. He already ate lunch, the garden was tended to, and Stuart was probably still in his bedroom. 

Murdoc chuckled to nobody, thinking of that rabbit. What a nervous little creature, surely a curious thing to behold. He had wanted to spend more time with the man, but had been putting that task off the longest. He couldn’t dare to face such an innocent thing, knowing that he would most likely taint Stuart in the next week. It was common, in the Niccals family, to taint the innocent things they loved. Take his father, for example, previous King of Hearts. 

Sebastian was a vicious ruler, more like Paula than Murdoc, and would murder if given a strange look. The only one able to bring him out of this tyrannical trance was Murdoc’s mother, whose name he had lost to time. She was a free spirit, and brought tranquility with wherever she went. He could remember how his father’s old eyes would soften at the mere thought of his late queen. She was the one and only for Sebastion, there was no doubt about it. 

Their meeting was simple- she stormed into the castle as a complainer, pushing past all the staff just to give the King a piece of her mind. Her complaint was that Sebastian’s soldiers paid no mind to her garden in front of her cottage, meaning that every time they walked or rode past, it was inevitable that her red roses and geraniums were crushed to smithereens. It had taken years for her to build up the courage to even consider complaining, until one night, when the soldiers crushed a new batch of red asters, that she had taken enough. The next morning, she got up, and immediately walked to the castle to complain. The anger fueled her steps and clouded her mind, leaving the implications to be thought of after the fact. As soon as Sebastian had laid his cold eyes on her, he was smitten. Of course, he never let anyone but himself admit it, but that was the absolute truth. He made her queen instantly, with her permission, of course, though even that took major convincing. 

It was a trend in the Niccals household to do many things without considering the implications. For example, Sebastian married and had his first child all within the same year. Then, Murdoc’s mother insisted on waiting until his older brother was more independent to have any other children. Sebastian couldn’t help but agree, he feared losing his new wife too much. She was everything to him. Despite her mellowing him out, he still ruled with an iron fist. He performed fewer executions, sure, but the kingdom was still tense, even with the new spouse. 

Things had changed later on, though. Murdoc was born when Hannibal was only five years old. Their mother lived for four more years until she was taken by a bad case of pneumonia. Murdoc was too young then to retain any clear memories of his mother. Looking back, all he could see was a blurry face and a shining smile, complimented by a pair of arms wrapping around his tiny body securely, as if to say that no harm will ever come to him. As those arms faded away into nothingness, his mind wandered to images of his father, after his mother’s death.

Sebastian spiraled. He was worse than ever before. While before, he drank very much, although his mother had put a stop before anything could happen. Without her, his habits only worsened. It was nightly that he had finished off at least a bottle of the kingdom’s finest, especially stressful nights it was at least two. Hannibal and Murdoc adapted fast, they had to, for their own sake. Murdoc’s older brother and the staff within the castle raised him better than his own father did, which is most likely the reason why he isn’t a complete tyrant like his father. Despite the acceptable treatment from his brother and staff, he was still petrified when Sebastian was in one of his moods. The man was depressed, in grief, yet was denying the possibility of his wife’s death. He was in denial until the very day that he died. Liver failure. 

When Sebastian’s life ended, Murdoc was fifteen years old and felt little to no anguish over the passing of his father. Logically speaking, Hannibal, being the first-born, would be the next in line for the crown and title of King of Hearts. Hannibal, as soon as he was fourteen, left the Kingdom for good, under the excuse that he went on a vague ‘mission,’ never to be found again. All believed he died, but Murdoc knew better. His brother was smarter than let on, and he wouldn’t just walk into the forest to die. The youngest brother knew that people survived for years in the forest, it was possible that Hannibal even lived a full life in the forest, something better than anything a life of royalty could ever compare to. Personally, Murdoc wouldn’t ever dare live out his days in the forest, but to each their own, he figured. 

Murdoc was pulled away from his mental flashback by a creak at the opening door. He groaned. “Who the fuck- the throne room is closed for today! Complain tomorrow, or I’ll really give ya something to complain about!” He banged his staff and stood up, glaring daggers at the intruder. His eyebrows instantly raised and his eyes softened upon seeing who had entered the room. “Oh, it’s just you. Shouldn’t you be back in bed, resting?” His eyebrows furrowed once more and he sat back down, frowning a bit. 

Stuart was staring up at the king with wide eyes, biting his lip. Murdoc told him to stop, and he briefly apologized before trying to build up the confidence to speak. “Well, I- Okay, so, your friend- and I guess, my friend now, technically, you know- Sir Russel, you know Russel, right?” Murdoc scoffed, a sly smirk ghosting over his thin lips. 

“I know of him.” 

“Okay- well, Russel told me that you were stressed out and that I could help!” Stuart’s disposition changed to that of a cheerful one, giving Murdoc a strained grin at the end of his proposition. 

Murdoc turned his head to the side, trying to subtly cover his burning cheeks with his left hand. Tens of thoughts rushed through his empty head, all dirty and would be dealt with a slap to the back of his head from Russel. When Stuart’s smile wavered, he whipped his head back, clearing his throat loudly. “Very well, continue.”

“Well, since I was a singer in the other kingdom, Russel thought that I could sing to you! Get your mind off all the stress from being a king!” His grin was no longer forced, but a genuine, helpful smile that shone throughout the throne room.

The King raised his brows, considering what would happen if he said no, then what would happen if he said yes, and figured the latter had the better outcome. He crossed his arms, sitting straight against his throne and staring down at Stuart. He grinned evilly. “Fine. Impress me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we love writers block


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ace is dumb and stuart is soft

“No, I already told you, we don’t have any money. We just have to take it and if someone yells at us we’ll invite them to a tea party!” She paused for a second. “But, I guess if they don’t want to come to the tea party we can just run. You’re fast, you can hold the bags.” She forced the bag full of stolen food into the man’s chest, continuing on their trek throughout the village. The two had dressed in almost exclusively red clothes to seem as inconspicuous as possible. This was proven futile as every person they would pass stared at them like they were doing backflips on the top of the church’s steeple. It was easy to ignore the stares, easy until they had to grab a loaf of bread or a few apples from a stand without being noticed. 

They devised a system to steal the food, one of the pair would create a large distraction and the other would take as much of the merchandise as they could fit into their bags. The hare’s distraction was to fall or knock something over loudly, and then loudly and quickly apologize until Ace could signal her to move along. Ace didn’t really have to do much in order to be distracting, his skin was already bright green, so he just walked into the open and started talking about random things. His distraction was more like an awkward stand-up with an unresponsive audience. The watchers, of course, took the bait and observed the spectacle with their undivided attention. 

Their method had been working for a good couple hours until March was seen stealing a small sack of flour. The merchant was watching Ace work his magic until he saw a brown hand reach over to take something in his peripheral. He whipped his head around, grabbing her wrist out of reflex. “Hey! What are you doing?!” The captivated audience quickly lost their interest in the green man, trading their attention to the thief. The woman stiffened, quickly averting her eyes to her companion. They knew what to do. 

“Run!” She screamed, tossing the bag at Ace, who was the one to carry their belongings until they were in the clear, as he was faster than March. The hare tore her arm away and the two took off, sprinting as fast as they could. Their destination was just outside the kingdom walls, close to the forest that they called home. If they couldn’t make it, the next area of reconciliation was an alley near the gate, not nearly as secluded as their initial sade space, but dark enough to hide while the controversy blew over. 

They ran out of breath quickly, the spot from which they ran from being very far, they couldn’t reach the gates if they wanted to. Ace took a sharp turn, running into an alley that the two had not previously discussed. March had no choice but to follow him, sprinting as fast as she could until she was forcefully stopped. 

“Ow! Ace! Why’d ya stop-?” She was cut off by a hand covering her face. Her eyes traveled up to Ace, who was frozen, staring into the open space. 

Staring right back at Ace was a man, wearing all white, his eyes wide and mouth open. He raised a shaky finger to point at the two, eyes rapidly looking around to look for Stuart as well. March frowned. “Who is that?”

“Eh, it’s just this guy from that other kingdom, think his name is Marty or somethin’- well, he didn’t like being called Marty. Guess that might’ve not been his name, actually,” He mumbled as he shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Shouldn’t it be concerning that he’s here? He’s not from this kingdom.”

Ace nodded then shook his head. “Neither are we, toots.” He moved away from her, walking towards the man. “Ey, yo, Marty! Whassup, man?”

The man from the kingdom, dubbed Marty by Ace, took a few steps back, before realizing his mission. He had to return at least one of the missing members of the kingdom. He stepped up, feigning bravery, like a cat fluffing its tail up. He frowned. “You are to come with me back to the White Kingdom. Queen’s orders.” Ace raised a brow, looking between the two in his presence. His lips curled into a sneer, before laughing a bit. 

“Nah.”

Marty was stunned, babbling for a moment. “You-You can just say nah! You are to come with me! By the order of the Queen.” 

“Not in my kingdom, Marty. Gotta go. See ya!” He waved happily, grabbing March’s arm and beginning their walk back to their very own kingdom. 

The man from the white kingdom took a few steps back before looking around. He wanted to leave, to run back to his very own cottage in the kingdom, eat a nice meal before going to work once more in the castle. However, now it seemed that he was going to be murdered for not doing a job that he wasn’t even trained to do. He figured that if he were to die, it wouldn’t be in vain. He started making his way to the castle of the Red Kingdom, hoping to find Stuart. 

 

Murdoc smiled, a sweet, genuine smile that mimicked his father when he watched his mother do anything. His eyes slowly shut, the melodic voice of the bunny softly caressing his ears. As the siren song ended and he was once again pulled back into the state of reality, frowning slightly. He opened his eyes again. “Why’d ya stop?” 

Stuart looked up back at the king, shrugging and shifting his gaze down to his feet. “Well, the song ended. Didn’t know if you wanted me to keep going.” 

Murdoc grunted, looking to his side. “Well, you can keep going if you want. It was nice, thank you. You can leave if you decide.” 

“But I.. I don’t really want to leave. It’s nice to be outside of the bedrooms, and to be around you.” A light pink dusted his cheeks, smiling slightly up at the King. 

Murdoc almost shattered into a million pieces. He finally understood his father, which was a fact that shook him to his core. He didn’t want to be compared to his father, especially with how his father treated his children. He would give anything in order to not end up like Sebastian. As his thoughts swarmed, Stuart brought him back by shuffling a little bit. Murdoc looked back down at the man, sighing. He was going to be nicer. 

“Alright. You can sit up here, in the chair beside me.” He gestured to the empty throne beside him, acting as if he didn’t know that the seat beside him was once used for the former Queen of Hearts. He enjoyed teasing the easily-flustered bunny. 

Stuart’s breath left his entire being, leaving him red and gasping for air. He got to sit in the Queen’s throne? Was it his birthday? “Ah- really? Oh-Okay!” He grinned and ran up to the throne, taking his place beside the King. “It’s really comfy!”

“That’s ‘cause it hasn’t been used in decades,” Murdoc mumbled, staring straight ahead. “Last Queen here was my mum, she’s been long gone for over two decades.” 

Stuart’s eyebrows raised, then furrowed them, as if about to cry. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I can get off if you want me to!” Murdoc looked to the side at the man, sighing and rolling his eyes. He glared a bit. 

“I don’t care. It’s comfy. Sit. Don’t remember her anyway.” As Stuart was to say something else, one of the throne room guards entered. 

“Sir, an ambassador from the White Kingdom has requested for your presence, it’s about Stuart.” 

Murdoc’s eyes widened for a fraction, before glaring back at the man at the door. “Tell him to leave. If Paula wants something, that bitch can come to get it herself. And she is not getting that rodent.” He spoke with malice, venom dripping at his teeth with every word. The guard nodded quickly and left. Stuart’s voice piped up from the side, his question meek and small. 

“Am I gonna be taken back to the other kingdom?”

“Not if I have a say in it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive only been watching cinemasins and my brain has stopped working  
> sidenote 'why'd ya stop' is the catchphrase for this entire fic


End file.
